Parker Posey's Movie Appearances

Updated November 22, 2002 for several movies.
Updated October 5, 2002 for What Rats Won't Do.
Updated July 4, 2001 for The Anniversary Party.

Must See Movies

Daytrippers, The (1996) .... Jo Malone, Eliza's sister

This movie was really entertaining, way better than I was expecting. Like a lot of Parker's movies, they spent about $25 making it, but it doesn't matter. Hope Davis is Eliza, the older, married, sister in this lower-middle-class family, which decides to take a "day trip" to find her husband after they find what might be a love letter to him from someone else. Everyone was great in this movie, including Anne Meara (I heard Roger Ebert hated her performance, but what does he know?).

Parker's character was really funny and sarcastic in this, and Parker was looking her usual fine self. She got to play a wide variety of scenes/emotions and show what she's got.

Waiting for Guffman (1996) .... Libby Mae Brown

This was a really funny movie. It's the story of the people of Blaine, Missouri (a real hick town) who are urged by their swishy theatre director (Christopher Guest) to put on a theatre production to impress a soon-to-visit New York theatre critic. The townsfolk/actors include Eugene Levy, Fred Willard and Catherine O'Hara as well as Parker, and all the performances are excellent! The resulting musical production is both terrible and great at the same time.

Parker plays a ditzy Dairy Queen worker who acts in the show. Warning, her slightly-off audition singing of "Teacher's Pet" stuck in my head for days! I heard Parker herself suggested that particular song. Anyway, she was really funny.

Dazed and Confused (1993) .... Darla

This is an excellent movie, an ensemble story of high-school days back in the 1970s. This was Richard Linklater's 2nd movie, after "Slacker". Some really great scenes and a fine soundtrack (all memorable hit songs from the 70s). Parker is hysterical as the really mean-spirited cheerleader Darla who gets to initiate all the cheerleaders-in-training.

Recommended

Hell On Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2002) (TV) .....Ginger Heath

This was a decent TV-Movie starring Shirley Maclaine as Mary Kay Ash and Parker as a fictionalized younger competitor, Ginger Heath.

The movie was very good overall, Shirley Maclaine and the Mary Kay Ash story was covered pretty well with the TV crew interviewing her, behind the scenes talks with her son, and her reaction to Parker's company. Parker's story about her competing company was developed pretty well, and she got quite a bit more screen time than I expected.

But wow, Parker looks better in every new thing I see her in. And I loved seeing her cartwheeling, haven't seen that since Party Girl. :)

The Anniversary Party (2001) .....Judy Adams

This is an ensemble picture written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who also play the lead couple celebrating their repaired marriage by throwing an "Anniversary Party" for their 6th anniversary. It has some excellent dialogue and plot development and is really intense. Things really start to happen when a guest brings out some Ecstasy for everyone. Lots of familiar faces in the cast (Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Kline, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, John C. Reilly, and of course Parker). The film was shot very quickly (a few weeks) on digital video but looked fine to me.

Parker had one of the smaller roles, as the wife of the lead couples' accountant. She gets an entrance speech, a party toast speech and not much more dialogue. We don't get to know her character as well as most of the others. She appears in fine form in a bikini at the pool and later in a topless underwater ballet which was fun to watch and also funny.

Best In Show (2000) .....Meg Swan

This is a mock documentary in the same style as "Waiting For Guffman", except that the central event in this movie is a dog show. We follow the separate stories of 5 dog owners (all quirky in their own way) as they prepare for the Mayflower Dog Show. The dialogue (mostly improvised) is pretty funny but we never get to know any of the owners well enough. Fred Willard is good as the dopey show commentator.

Parker plays a high-strung lawyer who, along with her equally high strung lawyer husband, try to show their weimaraner without having a breakdown. They, along with everyone else, were pretty funny and no more.

Scream 3 (2000) .... Jennifer (Gale in Stab 3)

As you know, this is the finale of the Scream trilogy. More screaming, shrieking violins and mayhem as Neve Campbell's character is pursued once more. Parker is quite excellent as the movie (within the movie) version of Courtney Cox Arquette's character. She had a lot of funny and/or sarcastic lines and just about stole the show! There were a couple of great scenes between her and Courtney. Actually, the humor in the movie is way better than "the horror".

You've Got Mail (1998) .... Patricia

Finally, Parker is in a major movie that I can see at the local megaplex! This can't-miss movie, another romantic comedy from the "Sleepless in Seattle" team, didn't miss. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are business competitors and verbal sparring partners as his book store chain pushes her little children's bookshop out of business. But they are also e-mail pen pals (on AOL, ugh) but that correspondence is all anonymous so they don't know they're enemies in real life. Get it? Naturally, there's a budding romance, and it's cutely done by Tom and Meg. I can't think of two other actors who would have made this work as well.

Parker plays Tom's girlfriend, who naturally has to get tossed away by the plot to make room for Meg. So Parker's "Patricia" is pushy and shrill so we won't feel bad when she's gone. And we all know Parker can play a hard-edged character better than anyone! She's great in the role although she only has about 10 lines spread over 3 scenes.

6/2000 I reduced this to "Recommended" after seeing it again (and again) on cable etc. Now that my initial enthusiasm about seeing Parker in a major movie has worn off, I realize it is a bit too formulaic. The plot is too obvious to hold up under real scrutiny, altho it really is pulled off pretty well.

What Rats Won't Do (1998)...Mirella

Finally caught this British romantic comedy on BBC-America in 2002 after missing it on obscure channels a dozen times over the years. It's the story of two English barristers, man and woman (both fairly watchable; the woman was also in Ronin); he's a charming cad, she's more serious and engaged to boot, and you wonder if they'll wind up together? They face each other in court in a civil case over an old rich dead man's will, he represents the 21-year-old wife who was left the millions, she represents the son who was cut out of the will.

Parker of course plays the young, beautiful widow. Her character is also stupid and overly dramatic, the kind of role Parker is great at playing. And she is great! It's too bad she is only a supporting player (albeit a fairly important one) and thus doesn't get a lot of screen time. Decent movie overall.

The House of Yes (1997) .... Jackie-O

Parker rewls as the looney Jackie-Oh, the daughter in this muddy "incest comedy". She was way better than the rest of the movie! "I went over the edge...now I'm back!". She really got to let it all hang out! Parker got a special jury prize at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival for this role.

Party Girl (1995) .... Mary

This is Parker's biggest starring vehicle (so far). Parker plays Mary, the party girl who needs a job and gets one as a librarian from her godmother. The movie is a funny depiction of Mary's struggle to break away from her partying lifestyle and become a real librarian. This is a hip and funny movie, although the character of Mary isn't as likeable as she should be.

Henry Fool (1997) .... Fay

Hey, Hal Hartley finally directed a good movie! Or at least, one that was accessible to a non-film-major like myself. Henry Fool is a sleazy guy with literary pretentions who befriends Simon, a meek garbage man. Henry prompts Simon to try writing poetry, and the result is a super-provocative long poem that eventually makes Simon world famous. Fay is Simon's slutty sister who throws herself at every guy. The three leads were all engrossing to watch in action; Parker shows great range and turns in what may be her finest performance yet. (BTW, we the viewers never get to hear a word of Simon's shocking but award-winning poem).

Okay Movies

Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

This was a dumb fun movie featuring Rachel Leigh Cook as the title Josie in a movie based on the Archie Comics + cartoon "Josie and the Pussycats". The movie is goofy fun, the music is decent, and Rachel and the gang are pretty watchable. Parker plays the evil record executive who is using the Pussycats' music to her own ends. She hams it up in fine fashion, perfectly in keeping with the tone of the movie. So does her sidekick Alan Cummings. The problems with the movie were the weak plot and just overall lack of flow. Carson Daly has a great cameo. And don't miss the bloopers run during the closing credits!

Dinner at Fred's (1997)

This "zany" movie is about an executive (played entertainingly by Gil Bellows, later of Ally McBeal) who gets stranded with no money in a small town and accepts an invitation to stay with local guy Fred and his zany family. But everyone who stays at this zany house gets trapped there by a zany curse, and can our hero Gil save them from it?

The plot is the worst part of this movie and probably kept it from a US release (I ordered it thru the Canadian company Videoflicks.com). There is some good humor in it though, and Parker as the zany hairdresser daughter is daffy and charming, probably at her most winsome. She really was shining in this one! She and Bellows made the movie work well enough for me.

Clockwatchers (1997) .... Margaret

This movie is about 4 women who work as clerical temps at a large, faceless corporation ("Global Credit"). The jobs are boring, they're treated like dirt, and partway into the movie, a small bit of plot arrives when it becomes clear there's an office kleptomaniac, and it might be one of the four. This movie got such terrible reviews that I was actually pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be mildly watchable! Parker is interesting (and gets a lot of screen time) playing a bitter and somewhat depressed temp. The dialog could have been snappier but there were some nice bits, and the movie does effectively convey the boredom of the workers. A lot of incomplete plot points so I'd wait for the 4 hour director's cut.

SubUrbia (1997) .... Erica

Parker gives a solid but unremarkable performance as the publicist for, and accompanying, the local-kid-turned-rock-star who returns to his suburban home town to hang with some old acquaintances outside the convenience store. Both Parker and movie were slight letdowns for me.

Drunks (1995) .... Debbie

This is a movie about a bunch of great actors playing people at an AA meeting. There are plenty of nice speeches, one of which is from Parker, and a side story about Richard Lewis's character falling off the wagon outside the meeting. This movie was okay, but as several reviewers noted, it was less than the sum of its individual performances.

Doom Generation, The (1995) .... Brandi

This is a really weird movie directed by that Greg Arraki guy who gets so much press. A young couple, hip girl and dumb guy, get joined by a hitcher who saves them from a mad shopkeeper. Lots of crazy people pass thru this movie, and Parker is one of them in a pretty hysterical cameo. I couldn't rent this, but I could buy it at Suncoast for $8. Not too bad a ripoff at that price.

Kicking and Screaming (1995) .... Miami

This is one of those ensemble movies where we follow the lives of some kids who are graduating from college. Somehow, Eric Stolz is in all of these. There's actually a lot of decent dialogue (no action), especially between principals Olivia D'Abo and Josh Hamilton. I was disappointed because Parker doesn't have enough to do as the girlfriend of one of college kids. Upgraded to "Okay" 11/99.

Sleep with Me (1994) .... Athena

This movie is the story of a love triangle between Eric Stolz, Meg Tilly, and Craig Sheffer. All the scenes that include them are boring (with the exception of Parker's topless scene with Stolz :-). The (other) two scenes worth seeing are the card-game scene, with some funny bits by Parker and Joey Lauren Adams, and Quentin Tarantino's cameo as a guy explaining his hilarious theory about the true meaning of "Top Gun". These save the movie from the "avoid" rating. The "shtick" about this movie is that it was done with 6 different writers doing the 6 major scenes.

"Tales of the City" (1993) (mini) TV Series .... Connie Bradshaw
... aka "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City" (1993) (mini)

This finally appeared on Showtime, when they were running "More Tales of the City". Both were interesting collections of stories taking place in San Francisco in the late 70s/early 80s. Olympia Dukakis is good as one of the leads, and I guess this was Laura Linney's first big role, she's good too. Most of the stories revolve around sexual/romatic relationships, both heterosexual and gay. I missed about 30 minutes of "Tales", but from what I saw, Parker has a total of 30 seconds screen time between "Tales" and "More Tales". NOTE 11/99 Finally saw the opening episode of "Tales", Parker has several minutes of screen time right at the beginning as Mary Ann's friend. Looks really sweet in pigtails. NOTE 5/01 Parker had another 15 second role in "Further Tales of the City" as the proprieter of a sensory-deprivation clinic.

Coneheads (1993) .... Stephanie

Hey, it's the Coneheads movie, what kind of summary do you need? The movie was okay. Parker and Joey Lauren Adams have tiny roles as teenaged Connie Conehead's friends. You pretty much need freeze-frame to see them.

Mediocre Movies

The Misadventures of Margaret (1998)

This finally had its US premiere tonight (6/17/2000) on the obscure "Romance Channel" which I happen to get. I can see why it took 2 years to get a back-alley showing.

Parker plays the title character, a best-selling romance novelist who has various romantic "misadventures" (mostly imaginary) which endanger her marriage. The various scenes were incredibly disjointed and didn't flow together, and the dialogue was mostly flat (a few nice gems snuck in). There was very little plot progression. Parker's character was flighty and flirty and fun to watch but it was hard to accept her as a successful novelist.

Elizabeth McGovern and Brooke Shields were wasted in the supporting cast, which also included Corbin Bernson, a sure sign of danger. The Romance Channel cut out the much-publicized kiss between Parker and Brooke.

On the plus side, Parker was in almost every scene and was quite watchable (as always); also, the ending was well done (unlike the rest of the movie). These two things are what save the movie from my lowest rating.

Amateur (1994) .... Girl Squatter

Finally caught this Hal Hartley-directed "gem" on PBS. At least it was better than Flirt! The male protagonist has amnesia and doesn't remember stealing some floppies that cause some bad guys to chase him, nor does he remember what terrible thing he did to his girlfriend, the female lead. (We never find out what he did). There were some funny bits in here and it was interesting at times, but the guy who was the male lead was just not very watchable. Parker has one scene, a nice two-minute bit in the middle with her as a blase squatter.

Mixed Nuts (1994) .... Rollerblader
... aka Lifesavers (1994)

Steve Martin as a not-very-likeable guy running a suicide hotline, and the looney people around him. Not much of a funny movie. Parker has a very small role as one of two rollerbladers carrying Xmas trees. I heard she was given this role as a consolation, after some really funny scene she did with Tom Hanks got cut from "Sleepless In Seattle' (both are Nora Ephron movies).

Joey Breaker (1993) .... Irene Kildare

A mediocre movie about a white New York agent (played by this guy I've seen before) who has a culture-clashing romance with a black Jamaican waitress.

Parker has about 2 lines during her eyeblink appearance in the mailroom very near the end. Only noteworthy since it's her first credited movie role.

Only for the complete Parkermaniac

Basquiat (1996) .... Mary Boone

This was a very tedious movie. It's the story of a street artist who became famous and hung out with Warhol. Who cares? Lots of otherwise-interesting people drop in on this (Dennis Hopper, Courtney Love, Willem Dafoe). The only fun part was watching David Bowie playing Warhol, I'll bet he got into it.

Parker plays a gallery owner or something, not much screen time and no interesting dialogue to do.

Flirt (1995) .... Emily

This movie really sucked. It sucked even more than Frisk did. The idea here was to present the same romantic triangle or whatever story 3 times, using a different set of players/characters for each rendition. Well, once was too much. By the 3rd time, the director (Hal Hartley) had really perfected the technique for boring me.

Parker is looking spectacular (perfect makeup) as the first love object babe in the first telling. She appeared right away and was gone after 10 minutes. You should do the same.

Frisk (1995) .... Ferguson

This movie is the story of a homosexual torturer/serial killer. Needless to say, I couldn't identify with him too much. That isn't why it sucks though. It sucks because so much of it is inexplicable. About the only thing they try to explain is, why the guy does it. The poor storytelling and/or editing makes it hard to figure out how he gets away with it, what he's doing, or even how he makes a living. At one point he says "I think I need some accomplices", and in the next scene Parker and her onscreen boyfriend magically appear. At least Parker was pretty interesting as a murderous, blase valley girl. (I had to special-order this at $50+ to see it, ugh! Now I know why it was so hard to find).

Dead Connection (1994) .... Denise

Parker gets good screen time in the opening 10 minutes as an early victim of the killer. Then her character got killed and I stopped watching. I've read from reviews that the rest of the movie is really terrible.